30 September 2007

Welcome to the new space, please come in.Straight ahead is the main space. To the right is the secondary space. It will become our frame shop, viewing area and bar. Yes, we are putting in a bar with this gallery. Things are looking up already.

This is the main space. We will have to play with it for awhile to figure out where everything should go. I have moved the sofa three times already. From the far window on the left we can see all of downtown.

This is where the desk is going to stay. We can see both spaces from here and it covers a big rip in the carpet.

This space gets a much different crowd than the other space. Being next door to the toy store brought in absolutely everyone who came to town. Being upstairs changes that. In a good way.

We put a few chairs in this area. To contemplate art, life and where to have lunch.This gallery doesn't smell like pizza all of the time. A huge plus.

It does smell like incense. The last tenant was a new age crystal and bead store. She used to give "Psychic Massage", she would lay you on a table surrounded by mirrors, crystals, incense etc. She never touched you. It was all done psychically. All for $45.00 an hour. I am so in the wrong business.

25 September 2007

Halloween is one of our favorite holidays, so Mr. Man needed a few decorations. It was all Precious really. She cut these out the other night. I helped a little. Mr. Man "accidentally" cut the tail off of the cat with the scissors. Boys...We are going to have a costume party for Halloween. Mr. Man is going to be Peter Pan. Precious is going to be Tinkerbell and I am going to be Captain Hook. Arrr!

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We drove down the coast for awhile to a trail head that goes to Falcon Cape. The trail goes way out to the point in the center of this photo. It's about a four and a half mile walk on a very well maintained trail.

Monday we decided to close the gallery and take a family day. We will have to spend the rest of this week moving the gallery across the street, so some personal time was needed. This was the start of our day. Up the trail.

Along the trail...

This is about 3/4's of the way. We stopped and had lunch on the trail. I never go into the woods without enough supplies to survive for days on end. Must be the Boy Scout in me. Or growing up in the woods being raised by wolves.

This is the end of the trail looking back toward the Cape. It was a fantastic day. Mr. Man was a trooper. He walked almost the whole the way. I carried him on my shoulders for about a mile after he had a hard fall. Then getting a little goofy I drug him for about a half a mile. (all in good fun). We decided that for the rest of this fall and winter we are going to close the gallery for at least one day per week to spend some time together. We don't get nearly enough family time.

We are working on revamping the gallery. I'm hoping that we can keep it open but still leave Oregon. Or at least be able to spend a lot more time some place else.

19 September 2007

As mentioned earlier this week. This is the first practice work for the upcoming "Quick Draw".Each panel is 12 x 36 inches. Oil on canvas. It took about 45 minutes. I'm guessing.

I had started to listen to "This American Life" with Ira Glass. One of the best PBS radio shows ever. Anywho...Each program is about 58 minutes or so. I started listening, ran upstairs to make myself a Vodka redbull, came back down and began painting. I was finished aboout ten minutes before it was over. Ira made me cry too. A story about the bond of love between parents and children. I have become such a softy.

18 September 2007

The following comment was left by anonymous, on a post from a month or so ago. I felt I needed to respond.

Does anyone here even know where the term 'giclee' came from ? It's french slang for ejaculation ... seriously!http://www.linternaute.com/dictionnaire/fr/definition/gicler/Probably a joke that someone made because the ink spurts on to the substrate and it stuck.I personally think that giclees are ruining art. People think they're buying something of value, which in reality is just an inkjet print.

As far as the term giclee, he's correct. As sick as that is. I have always wondered about the origin of the term myself. It most likely was a joke that stuck.

As far as giclees ruining art...

My take is this. Giclees are like all new technology. When Serigraphs were the newest thing, everyone cried and said that the serigraph would ruin art. Lithographs were the only way to reproduce work. Eventually serigraphs became accepted and for some time were the standard. A serigraph is just a silk screen with a fancy name. It's the same process used to print tee shirts.

Now we are hearing the same thing about giclees. Years ago when they were new to the art world I wouldn't own one. The quality wasn't there yet. Today they are a much better quality. They can be archival if done correctly. That part is the key to any print. They must be done correctly. Yes, technically they are just an inkjet.

You also have to take into account the number of works that are printed. Is it only a few or is it thousands?

From a reproduction stand point, you can't get closer to the original. Giclees have also allowed many more artists to have prints of their work. They're easier and less expensive to make.

I know of museums that have giclees in their collections. Quality is in the eye of the owner. I guess only time will tell what impact they will have on the world of art.

17 September 2007

Trying to show the beautiful sky's. All the wonderful colors."Red Dawn"12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

This painting has been painted over more than a dozen times now.I think this time may be it. I have it in a frame and in the gallery. We'll see."Passing Rain" 24 x 30 inch oil on canvas

Going for more of an abstract feel. Getting a good photo is very difficult. This works has some violets and greens in the sky that I really like. I thought about putting a small boat in the lower left corner. No."Untitled" 41 x 57 inch oil on canvas

*****

I decided to do the "Quick Draw" event again. A glutton for punishment. This year I will be doing one of the seascapes. This week I painted a three piece panel, each being 12 x 36 inches, in 45 minutes. Photo to be posted soon. It is still drying and needs to be glazed first.

We should be finalizing our move today or tomorrow. We are looking forward to the new space. Change is good.

12 September 2007

If you picked option C, you could be my investor. It is so great to be involved with people who care about your well being and want you to succeed.

At least, that's what I'm told. The people I work with could care less about us.

I have been trying to picture what would happen if I took their advice and only worried about getting their money back to them.

Stop paying rent...No building for the business. Reported to credit bureaus. Possibly sued by landlord.Stop paying vendors...No product for the business to sell. No sales, no income. Possibly sued by vendors.Stop paying the staff salaries...they can't pay their bills. They lose their house. Default on their personal bills. Go bankrupt. (The staff consists of Precious and myself.)

So, I take their advice and in a month or so, I have no product no building and no staff.

How exactly do they think I am going to get them their investment back?

The more I'm around people, the more they disappoint. Clearly, I'm hanging around the wrong people.

I live my life by a few basic rules that I was brought up with. They have been a pretty good guide up to this point in my life. The times life has been hardest was because I ignored one or more of my rules.

That is exactly what has happened here.

The first rule I ignored. Trust my own judgment.It's always been pretty good. When I have a gut feeling that says,"...why would anyone come to this place? There is nothing here to encourage sales or growth." I should listen to that feeling. I'm having it for a reason.

The second rule I ignored. Never do business with family or friends. EVER.One of the investment partners is someone I have considered a friend. I knew the second he asked about investing that it was a bad idea.

There are a few other things I managed to do wrong with this endeavor, but I'm pretty sure those can be fixed. The first two, well that's a little more difficult.

11 September 2007

Let's say that you have decided to make a financial investment in a small company.You give "X" amount of money with the understanding that the company will: Pay its rent, utilities, vendors, salaries etc. Anything that is left over would be considered profit and would go toward repaying the investment followed by earnings.

A basic agreement, nothing complicated.

With every financial investment there will be risk. There is no definite time lime for investment money to be repaid or for profits to occur, if there are profits at all.

So one day you decide that you are tired of waiting for the business to start making money.

What do you do?

A) Realize that it was a risk to invest and since you have not actually lost any of your investment yet, you wait it out.

B) Decide that you will give up your investment money and dissolve the agreement.

C) Call the company and tell them you want all of your money back. They should stop paying rent, utilities, vendors and salaries until that point. Getting their money back is more important that anything else.

* Certain restrictions do apply; dates of availability and artwork available for this promotion will vary. Trips, destinations and accommodations will vary from person to person. Ask us for more details.

*****

It's time to give more. We didn't increase our prices to adjust for the give aways. We are lowering our profits to give more to our clients.

I'm tired of places wanting more and more and giving less and less. It's not just the art world but the world in general. Good service and quality product have become a thing of the past.

When you are offered a piece of crap, the price is irrelevant. It's still a piece of crap. All the hype in the world wont change that. I'm beginning to think that we have all lost the ability to spot quality vs crap. Well it may be running us out of business but we refuse to sell crap. Quality costs a bit more but in the long run, it's worth it.

05 September 2007

I want to rant on and on about the joke that is our world of fine art. But I wont.I want to go on and on about how much I am disliking our situation. But I wont.I want to go on and on about what I want the art world to be and what I want from it in return. But I wont.

Instead, I'm painting. I'm not writing. I don't how express my feelings and moods in words.

The seascape series is getting great feedback. I'm liking the direction they're taking. They seem to be getting better and better. With each one they become a bit more complex. More moody and emotional. Lately a little bit darker.

I'm tired of seeing artists and publishers demand more and more, while offering less and less.Quality goes down while prices go up.